Never thought I would say this, but....

I am addicted to running! Yes, I have become a runner.

I have always HATED running. Many of you have probably heard me say many times that I will never be a runner, I don't like running and would rather weight train, swim, bike, walk or do any other cardiovascular workout other than running.

Well, that all went away when I joined the Heart of Summer run/walk training clinic through my employer:

For the first two weeks of the training clinic I was in the walk to run group (there is a walking group, a walk to run group, a 5K train group and a 10K train group) because, as I said before, I didn't run and wasn't sure what kind of shape I was in to run. Well, I surprised myself and found that the walk to run group was too easy, so I moved up to the 5K group and now am addicted to running! We have a training schedule of running certain mileage 5 times a week, cross training once a week and resting on other days. Currently we are running 1.5 to 2.5 miles per day on average and I am finding it very enjoyable. I even went to a running store that specializes in running shoes and apparel and bought new shoes that work perfectly with my type of foot and gait. Oh yeah, I am hard core; OK maybe not that hard core (yet)!

I typically do my workouts early in the morning before work or early on weekends, so I decided to run at that time too. I have to say that running when the air is cool, all is quiet and the sun is slowly rising is so blissful, relaxing and soothing.

And her is something I definitely NEVER thought I would say...I have signed up to run my first 5K! I will be participating in this event on July 24:

I will need lots of prayers for good training, no to minimal injuries and the strength and stamina to keep up with the training. Wish me luck!